Agnes Mary Clerke and the rise of astrophysics
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Bibliographic Information
Agnes Mary Clerke and the rise of astrophysics
Cambridge University Press, 2002
- : hbk
- : pbk
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Agnes Mary Clerke & the rise of astrophysics
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 269-270) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Born in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century, Agnes Mary Clerke achieved fame as the author of A History of Astronomy during the Nineteenth Century. Through her quarter-century career, she became the leading commentator on astronomy and astrophysics in the English-speaking world. The biography of Agnes Clerke describes the life and work of this extraordinary woman. It also chronicles the development of astronomy in the last decades of pre-Einstein science, and introduces many of the great figures in astronomy of that age including Huggins, Lockyer, Holden and Pickering; their achievements and their rivalries. The story follows her friendship with William and Margaret Huggins, and her prolific correspondence with eminent astronomers of the time. This biography will fascinate scientists, and anyone who admires intellectual achievement brought about through love of learning and sheer hard work.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1. Family background in County Cork
- 2. Ireland and Italy
- 3. London, the literary scene
- 4. The History of Astronomy
- 5. A circle of astronomers
- 6. A visit to South Africa
- 7. The System of the Stars
- 8. Social life in scientific circles
- 9. Homer, the Herschels and a revised History
- 10. The opinion moulder
- 11. Popularisation, cryogenics and evolution
- 12. Problems in Astrophysics
- 13. Women in astronomy in Britain in Agnes Clerke's time
- 14. Revised System of the Stars
- 15. Cosmogonies, cosmology and Nature's spiritual clues
- 16. Last days and retrospect
- 17. Epilogue
- Notes
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index.
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